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Want More Bone Broth in Your Diet? Find it a Chore to Make? Then you need to read this…

TMBL readers are a smart bunch so I’m going to assume that by now you all know the value of a good bone broth (and if you don’t, more on that later). However it’s not always easy to get a batch brewing – from sourcing the best bones to preparing the stew, it can sometimes seem more hassle than it’s worth.

And that’s where today’s featured interviewee, Nick Mares, comes in. Nick is the founder of Bone Broths Co – the first company to bring a grass-fed and shelf-stable broth to market.

As you’d expect, he’s a big fan of the meaty elixir and I took the opportunity to quiz him on how he got the broth business started, why he’s so passionate about getting it into people’s kitchens (and bellies!) and how you can get your hands on a packet.

Oh, and there’s a special surprise for TMBL readers at the end of the post so keep reading until the very end (spoiler alert: it’s a competition!).

What is Bone Broths Co?

Bone Broths Co. is the first USDA grass-fed, shelf-stable bone broth on the market. That’s our quick one line pitch, but I’ll go deeper into who we really are and why we started Bone Broths Co.

I started Bone Broths Co. at the age of 18 in August of 2014 with my older brother, Justin. I have to give credit where credit is due – it was Justin that actually turned me on to bone broth.

We were chatting over the phone one day about the Paleo diet. He brought up this food that I had never heard of and was talking in great detail about how ridiculously amazing it is for you. He kept going on and on and then said he could not find any of this bone broth on the internet or in grocery stores.

The light went off in my head and I realized that this might be an actual problem people are having, and one that I could solve.

We talked about the idea for a bit, and it didn’t take too long to convince each other that this was definitely something we wanted to pursue. We knew we could make bone broths ourselves with a crock pot, but that requires too much time and attention. We didn’t want people to be turned off by bone broth because it takes so long to make.

We wanted to get bone broths into everyone’s hands, hassle free.

The journey from idea to product was a real struggle. I ended up calling over 300 co-packers, seeing if they’d be able to make bone broth for us. Out of those 300, only two said they could and after a month of working with them and trying to get off the ground, we realized that their values didn’t align with ours.

We wanted a co-packer that wasn’t profit driven and only worked with the finest ingredients and could do 24+ hour cook times.

Finally after seven months of searching all 50 states for a co-packer, we found one. We seriously were made for each other. He only works with the best ingredients and values product over profit. With him, we were able to make the first grass-fed, pasture-raised, shelf stable beef bone broth on the market.

We’re now undergoing our first production run and gearing up for our launch in late May.

As is with every start-up, the beginning was really rough and at times very dark. The only thing that kept us going and motivated to find a co-packer was our desire to make bone broths accessible to everyone. We couldn’t live with ourselves if we weren’t able to share the health benefits of bone broths with the world, so it really was our passion and our vision that fueled the seven month-long search.

How Does It Work?

We’ve worked hard to make the ordering process as simple as possible! Just visit our site at welcome.bonebroths.com and place an order.

You get free shipping on orders over four units, and like we said we’ll be shipping sometime in late May. We have a fulfillment center that is strategically placed in Nebraska, which means that we can reach 98% of the United States with standard shipping in just 3 days!! That means we can get our bone broth out to you about just as quickly as it would take for you to make it yourself.

We pride ourselves in being quick.

I know one of the questions we always receive is, “How is your bone broth shelf-stable?” Most people are used to seeing bone broth frozen or the packaged stuff they see in the stores.

Do not compare us to the broths or stocks in the stores! They don’t make true bone broth.

They use high temperatures and quick cook times to make their broth. High temps and quick cook times doesn’t allow for the bone broth to absorb all the nutrients and minerals that the bones and ingredients have to offer.

They don’t use quality bones. Usually bones from cows that are grain fed and treated with hormones and antibiotics. How can you expect a quality product if you don’t use quality bones?

We’ve combined modern-day packaging technology with the old-fashioned way of cooking bone broth to bring you authentic bone broth. We absolutely don’t use preservatives or anything unnatural to make our bone broth shelf-stable. Everything on our ingredients list is stuff you can pronounce and probably find in your kitchen right now. We honor product over profits and are committed to bring you the absolute best and authentic bone broth possible.

We only use bones from grass-fed, pasture-raised cattle that aren’t treated with hormones or antibiotics. In addition to amazing bones, we only use organic vegetables and we slowly simmer our bone broth for 24+ hours. That’s what we mean when we say we combine modern-day packaging technology with the old-fashioned way of cooking bone broth: it may be shelf-stable, but that doesn’t affect the integrity of the broth.

What is so special about bone broths?

I could write 10 pages about what makes bone broths so special…and in fact we have, but we’ll give you the shorter version.

Plus, it’s a godsend for arthritis sufferers because it can cool inflammation and ease joint pain without any side effects.

It has also been shown to help with bone development, promote healthy skin and hair growth, and may even help reduce the risk of cancer. If you want to avoid osteoporosis and arthritis, it’s outstanding because it provides the body with the collagen and gelatin that makes up every joint in the body.

Finally, it’s loaded with some of the most powerful disease-fighting vitamins, amino acids and micronutrients known to science, which fortify your immune system and help it protect every organ of your body against disease.

It’s also being used by bodybuilders, tennis pros and some of the best athletes in the world to enhance athletic performance. Los Angeles Lakers all-star Kobe Bryant credits bone broth as one of the reasons he’s been able to become the league’s 3rd all-time leading scorer, and a major reason why he’s still an NBA all-star and one of the league’s oldest players.

This quick overview of bone broths health benefits doesn’t quite do it justice, but I know we have limited space! It’s really just amazing that one food (or drink) can have this many health benefits.

How do you get broth into your diet?

Honestly, my brother and I are old-school. Every morning we love to heat up a glass of bone broth and add a pinch of salt to add a little extra flavor. This is a great way to drink it, and we’ve found that drinking it in the morning is the best way for us to start off our day.

We know that some people like a bit of a kick to their drinks, which is why we’re excited to tell you guys that we’re offering Things My Belly Likes readers the chance to create our next flavor! Just shoot an email over to nick@bonebroths.com and we’ll be choose a winner by end of April!

We cannot wait to see what kind of creative flavors you guys can come up with! We have a team of chefs that we’ll be working with to create sample batches and help us pick the most delicious flavor. Run wild with your imagination, you can’t really go wrong.

Like the man says, drop him an email at nick@bonebroths.com to enter your flavor suggestion. Personally, I’m thinking lemongrass chicken, thai beef and rosemary tarragon lamb, but those are my ideas, no stealing.